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Objective: To document the prevalence of anemia among patients admitted to intensive care (ICU) and, among survivors, at ICU discharge when restrictive transfusion practice was used.Design: This was an observational cohort study.Setting: Ten of the 26 general ICUs in Scotland.Patients and Participants: One thousand twenty-three sequential ICU admissions over 100 days, representing 44% of all ICU admissions in Scotland during the study period, studied daily from admission to discharge or death in the ICU.Interventions: None.Measurements and Results: The median transfusion trigger used, in the absence of bleeding, was 78 g/l (interquartile range 73-84); <2% of transfusion triggers were above the upper limit of the national transfusion trigger guideline (100 g/l). Overall, 25% of admissions had a hemoglobin concentration <90 g/l at ICU admission. Seven hundred sixty-six patients admitted survived to ICU discharge. Among these, the prevalence of anemia (male <130 g/l; female <115 g/l) at ICU discharge was 87.0 (95% CI: 83.6 to 89.9)% for males and 79.6 (74.8 to 83.7)% for females. Of the male survivors 24.1 (20.3 to 28.3)% and of the female 27.9 (23.4 to 33.2)% had a hemoglobin <90 g/l at ICU discharge. The prevalence was similar for patients with and without pre-existing ischemic heart disease. Logistic regression found independent associations between having a hemoglobin concentration <90 g/l at ICU discharge and the first measured hemoglobin in ICU, the presence of acute renal failure and thrombocytopenia during ICU stay.Conclusions: Anemia is highly prevalent in ICUs that use restrictive transfusion triggers. The impact of anemia on functional recovery after intensive care requires investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of chemically distinct anxiolytics were examined for effects on defensive behavior (foot-shock-induced freezing) in rats. Central nervous system acting drugs which are not anxiolytics were also studied. Animals were injected with a drug or vehicle (IP) prior to being placed in a chamber with a grid floor through which two footshocks were delivered. Behavior was observed during the pre-shock period (2 min) and for 4 min after the second footshock. The effects of the following drugs on the duration of footshock-induced freezing were studied: diazepam (DZP); 2-amino-4,5-(1,2-cyclohexyl)-7 phosphonoheptonic acid (NPC 12626); 3-((+/−)-2-carboxypiperazine-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid (CPP); [(+)-5-methyl-10-11,dihydroxy-5H-dibenzo(a,d)cyclohepten-5,10-imine (MK-801); buspirone hydrochloride (BUS); dl-amphetamine sulfate (AMP); haloperidol (HAL); ethyl-β-carboline-3 carboxylate (β-CCE). Compounds which reduced the duration of footshock-induced freezing included DZP, BUS, and the competitive NMDA antagonists NPC 12626 and CPP. The non-competitive NMDA antagonist, MK-801, had no effect on the response. The highest dose of amphetamine tested also reduced footshock-induced freezing. However, amphetamine-treated animals did not locomote or rear after footshock, suggesting fear of the environment. Animals injected with DZP, NPC 12626, CPP or buspirone spent at least 1.4 of the 4 post shock minutes locomoting. Haloperidol had no effect on freezing at the doses tested. β-CCE tended to increase the duration of footshock-induced freezing. With the exception of buspirone, none of the compounds which reduced freezing were analgesic in a hot plate test, suggesting that analgesia was not the cause of reduced freezing. Foot-shock-induced freezing is a simple test which may be useful for detecting the anxiolytic potential of drugs from a number of different classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]